Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)

Amazon.com:
33 reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful

Good book for the priceFeb. 25 2009

By
Ace
- Published on Amazon.com

Format: Paperback

The book is good for the price, but some of the information is very dated. For the most part it gives very good basic info on how to get started. But I think the author gets too detailed when describing the techniques that he uses for rock tumbling. I would like to see this booked updated to include equipment and supplies that are available today, not 30 years ago. If it was more up to date, I would give this book 5 stars.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful

Excellent informationJan. 30 2010

By
LJB
- Published on Amazon.com

Format: Paperback
Verified Purchase

This is an excellent book for the beginner lapidary enthusiast. The book has really great information and is easily understood for the person wanting to get started tumbling gemstones and possibly creating a piece of jewelry with the finished product. It describes various tumblers and their differences and has good information on selecting stones for the tumbling process. The book has good description on the steps involved through the final polish. A great job is done in describing the different abrasives and how much to use per pound of stones. I purchased a second one for our eight year old grandaughter who got her first tumbler this last Christmas.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful

Dated but helpfulNov. 30 2011

By
LPR
- Published on Amazon.com

Format: Paperback
Verified Purchase

First let me say that I can't believe that a booklet written in 1979 is the best and most popular book on Amazon for rock tumbling! The booklet is well written but may prove a little hard to get through for those of us in the attention-deficit age who are used to books which describe everything for us in bold fonts with call-out boxes. This is a booklet you have to actually read, like a book, to get the information out. It took me several sittings to get through and I had to go back and use a highlighter to call out the salient points. That being said if you have some patience the writing and instructions are quite clear.

One drawback to the book is that the author describes two methods for tumbling -- the "popular" or "conventional" method, and then his method which he admits is a bit perfectionistic, so you are left a bit confused as to which method to use. His technique also involves using a grit called "saw wire grit" which I have been unable to find (please feel free to comment if you can find it). Additionally, his "recipes" for tumbling are based on a large (12 lb or so) tumbler, not the 3 lb one you get in most beginner kits, so you would have to convert them (I just used the recipes that came with my tumbler).

Finally the jewelry section is extremely dated, in my opinion the jewelry in the book is hideous :-) but that's just my opinion. But staggeringly, if you buy a rock tumbling kit today the jewelry making accessories (key ring, tie tacks (like anyone uses them anymore!), pendant bell caps) are exactly the same as those used 30 years ago. So in my opinion you would do better to drill your stones or mount them in another fashion.

In summary, a very helpful reference which I have read through twice and refer to often, but needs to be supplemented with the directions that came with your tumbler, and taken with a grain of... well how about grit? :-)

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful

Rock TumblingJan. 18 2008

By
Michael T. Tillman
- Published on Amazon.com

Format: Paperback

This is an excellent book and it is exactly what we ere seeking. It explains all that we needed to know to begin gem stone tumbling.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

Exactly as described.Aug. 6 2013

By
NormaB
- Published on Amazon.com

Format: Paperback
Verified Purchase

Our first experience with rock tumbling. The book is nicely written and easy to follow. A good guide and teaching tool.